Lessons from U Win Tin, Bastion of Freedom

Today we mourn the death of U Win Tin, a man revered for his unfailing dedication to Burma’s freedom movement.

To U Win Tin, the principles of press freedom and democracy were more than mere passions; they were the blueprint for his life. U Win Tin’s unwavering commitment to justice saw him spend 7,000 nights in Rangoon’s notoriously inhospitable Insein Prison, where he endured inhumane treatment and “spent [his] time in dog cells.” U Win Tin was tortured, denied medical treatment, and kept in solitary confinement.

As a journalist and editor, U Win Tin challenged the oppressive military junta. He did so in powerful and unequivocal terms that put Burma’s military generals on edge. The regime feared the man who fought not with guns but with his intellectual prowess. He was revered as an icon of hope, co-founding the National League for Democracy (NLD) in 1988.

U Win Tin paid dearly for his behind-bars advocacy. His sentence was extended and his treatment worsened. But for lifelong activist U Win Tin, this was a small price to pay, an afterthought compared with the importance of showing the world the horrors inflicted by the government.

Since his release from prison in 2008, U Win Tin always donned a blue shirt—the standard-issue garment he wore in prison. It was a nod to his friends and colleagues, political prisoners not yet released: “I made a decision to keep wearing my prison shirt because my friends were still in prison, and I feel that the Burmese people, as a whole, are still in prison.”

U Win Tin remained highly skeptical of the current government, despite many in the international community praising change and reform. He saw a government still dominated by the military and recognized the military’s central role in the “reform” process.

U Win Tin has often been described as an uncompromising man full of courage and integrity. Above all, he was hopeful—wholeheartedly convinced that the efforts of Burma’s people would help create a truly free country.

As the movement to establish a free Burma continues, let us pay homage to a man who dedicated his life to the cause. U Win Tin was a journalist, a prisoner, a leader, and an icon. Though he is no longer with us, we hope to help create the type of country U Win Tin sought: one represented by the people, all people, unbound by authoritarian control.

Though the Burmese government holds the cards of power, and refused to apologize to U Win Tin for the two decades he spent behind bars, it never managed to break U Win Tin and his indomitable spirit:

The movement for democracy and human rights in Burma is a vibrant active community of people. This blog highlights the efforts of those in the US, in Burma, and around the world.
www.uscampaignforburma.org